As the treatment of injuries to joints and soft tissue has progressed in the orthopedic medical arts, there has been a need for medical devices which can be used to attach tendons, ligaments and other soft tissue to bone. When surgically repairing an injured joint, for example, it is often preferable to restore the joint by reattaching the damaged soft tissues rather than replacing them with an artificial material. Such restorations typically require the attachment of soft tissue such as ligaments and tendons to bone.
An increase in the incidence of injuries to joints involving soft tissue has been observed. This increased incidence may be due, at least in part, to an increase in participation by the public in various physical activities such as sports and other recreational activities. These types of activities may increase the loads and stress placed upon joints, sometimes resulting in joint injuries with corresponding damage to associated soft tissue. In 1991, for example, there were approximately 560,000 surgical procedures performed in the United States in which soft tissue was attached to a bone in various joints including the shoulder, hip and knee.
One conventional orthopedic procedure for reattaching soft tissue to bone is performed by initially drilling holes or tunnels at predetermined locations through a bone in the vicinity of a joint. Then, the surgeon approximates soft tissue to the surface of the bone using sutures threaded through these holes or tunnels. This method, although effective, is a time-consuming procedure resulting in the generation of numerous bone tunnels. A known complication of drilling tunnels across bone is that nerves and other soft tissue structures may be injured by the drill bit or orthopedic pin as it exits the far side of the bone. Also, it is anatomically very difficult to reach and/or secure a suture/wire that has been passed through a tunnel. When securing the suture or wire on the far side of the bone, nerves and soft tissues can become entrapped and damaged.
In order to overcome some of the problems associated with the use of the conventional bone tunnel procedures, suture anchors have been developed and are frequently used to attach soft tissue to bone. A suture anchor is an orthopedic, medical device which is typically implanted into a cavity drilled into a bone. Although less frequently, these devices have also been referred to as bone anchors. The cavity is typically referred to as a bore hole and usually does not extend through the bone. This type of bore hole is typically referred to as a "blind hole". The bore hole is typically drilled through the outer cortex layer of the bone and into the inner cancellous layer. The suture anchor may be engaged in the bore hole by a variety of mechanisms including friction fit, barbs which are forced into the cancellous layer of bone, etc. Suture anchors are known to have many advantages including reduced bone trauma, simplified application procedures, and decreased likelihood of suture failure due to abrasion on bone. Suture anchors may be used in the Bankart shoulder reconstruction for repairing the glenohumeral ligament and may also be used in surgical procedures such as rotator cuff repair and hip replacement. Also, such anchors may be used in repair of tendon tears by direct attachment of bone to bone.
Suture anchors typically have at least one suture attached. This may be by means of a hole or opening for receiving the suture(s). At least one end and typically both ends of the suture strand extend out from the bore hole and are used to attach soft tissue. The suture anchors presently described in the art may be made of absorbable materials which absorb over time, or they may be made from various non-absorbable, biocompatible materials. Although most suture anchors described in the art are made from non-absorbable materials, the use of absorbable suture anchors may result in fewer complications since the suture anchor is absorbed and replaced by bone over time. In addition, the use of absorbable suture anchors may reduce the likelihood of damage to local joints caused by anchor migration.
Although suture anchors for attaching soft tissue to bone are available for use by the orthopedic surgeon, there is a constant need in this art for novel suture anchors having improved performance characteristics.
It has now also been recognized that suture anchors may have application in fields other than orthopedics. By way of example but not limitation, suture anchors may be employed in a field such as plastic surgery to stabilize tissue to bone. In these non-orthopedic applications, the deployment location of the suture anchor may necessitate that the suture anchor be formed as small as possible. For example, the suture anchor may need to be deployed in a relatively small facial bone. At the same time, however, the loads placed on such a suture anchor may be much less than the loads placed on an orthopedic suture anchor, thus giving rise to a range of different design considerations.
Thus there is also a need for improved suture anchors which may be used in non-orthopedic applications, including plastic surgery and the like.